UCLA's Lam climbing tennis rankings

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

Known for his marathon 20-ball rallies, Hawai'i's Chris Lam has the tennis world seemingly at his feet.

Kaimuki's Chris Lam says homeschooling helped him. Scott Quintard • ASUCLA Photography

But as proof that he's struck big time, the junior from Kaimuki has become a celebrity subject of UCLA internet chatrooms with "you my dawg yo" affirmations and questions of "What is your favorite Gatorade flavor?" to "Boxers or briefs, dude?" to "Chris, why are you so good?"

"He's an unbelievably good kid, an unbelievable student," UCLA coach Billy Martin said. "He has great work ethic and is a great teammate."

Lam is the first Hawai'i player to be ranked in the top 50 in singles since Lahainaluna graduates Jean Okada and Ryan Ideta. Okada reached No. 25 in women's singles for UC Santa Barbara in 1994 and 1996, and Ideta got to No. 36 for LSU in 1994.

In September, Lam got a taste of the professional circuit when he earned his first world rankings points by reaching the semifinals of the Ojai Futures event in California. Futures is a U.S. Tennis Association Professional Circuit Event. The four ATP points Lam earned gave him a world ranking of 1,085th.

Lam's personal coach, Calvin Nii, called Lam's accomplishment equivalent to a high school or college athlete getting drafted by a professional team.

"For a long time now, my goal has been to pick up one ATP point," Lam said. "Luckily, I had a good tournament and I picked up my first ATP point when I won the first round.

"To get the first point, it's a big hurdle," Lam continued. "Once you get that first one, it makes it seem a lot easier to pick up a few more."

Growing up, Lam was homeschooled from second to 12th grade by his mother, Patricia. He could not compete in high school tournaments, but he found that homeschooling helped his tennis and academics.

"It was actually good for me because it left me with a lot of time to practice when a lot of other people were in school," Lam said. "It prepared me pretty well for college. I've been doing well academically at UCLA also."

Lam, who carries a 3.73 GPA and is majoring in business, said he still managed to play all the top Hawai'i high school players in junior and open tournaments.

It was at those tournaments where Lam developed a solid tennis reputation. It would eventually lead him to Santa Clara University, where he won West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2002.

"I think Chris is an enormous physical talent, a tremendous natural athlete," Nii said of Lam, who is 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds. "He's the prototype modern player. Honestly, he could be a slotback in Division I. He has outstanding speed and explosiveness."

After his freshman year, with the blessing of Nii, Lam transferred to UCLA. In the fall of 2002, Lam upset the No. 2 singles player in the country — UCLA teammate Tobias Clemens of Bonn, Germany — in the semifinals of the Region VIII-South Championships. Lam was ranked No. 86 at the time.

Martin said Lam could easily be a "top 10" singles player this season with an improved serve and frontcourt play.

"We're trying to get him a little more aggressive to follow some serves or some approach shots into the net," Martin said. "That's not his forte right now, but he's getting better."

Martin said once Lam becomes more comfortable at the net, he can win points quicker.

"It will be easier on him physically so he's not having to grind it out and win so many points with 20-ball rallies," Martin said. "I think that's one of his strengths. He's so physical. He can go all day. He wears a lot of guys out."

Martin said he's counting on Lam to become one of the top collegiate players in his final two seasons. Lam posted a 13-3 overall singles record last fall for UCLA. He was 25-9 in No. 1 singles and 19-3 in doubles at Santa Clara.

"I think an NCAA singles championship isn't out of the question by any means," said Martin, who will likely use Lam in doubles this season. "He's a really determined young man."

Despite his relatively small stature, Lam has improved steadily over the years using his all-court game, quickness and conditioning.

"Most of the guys I play are taller and bigger," said Lam, who is an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection. "I guess they have an advantage in power. I consider myself to be pretty fast. I try and use that to offset the disadvantage of being the smaller guy."

Lam said he watched the Mercedes Cup played recently at UCLA. The tournament featured some of the top professional players in the world such as Gustavo Kuerten, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis. Lam said the professional circuit would suit him just fine.

"That's my long-term goal, to be there at that level a couple of years down the line," Lam said. "That's what I'm aiming for. I'm going to keep working hard every day to get there."

Note: Chris Lam lost to UCLA teammate and top seed Tobias Clemens, 6-3, 6-2, in the Southern California Intercollegiates final Sunday. Clemens and Lam teamed to defeat UCLA teammates Chris Surapol and Aaron Yovan, 8-0, in the doubles championship match.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.